Disclaimer: Here we go... No, I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters created by J.K. Rowling. Yes, I am getting tired of putting these things. No, I won't stop, because I'd like to keep myself from getting sued, if at all possible, thank you ever so much. Now, on with the story... . Whoot.
Chapter Six
The sun shone through the thin material of the curtains swaying in front of Dawn's open window, and Lorna sat perched on the edge of her Mistress's bed, not daring to move too quickly for she did not wish to wake Mistress Chandler. Her Mistress did not look well, as though she had not slept well the night before, or perhaps she was getting sick. This thought caused Lorna to come close to panicking. The little house elf jumped off the bed, almost tripping over Emiko, before beginning to walk back and forth beside Dawn's bed, waiting for the girl to open her eyes.
She didn't have to wait long, since the sun hitting Dawn's eyelids wouldn't permit the girl to sleep any longer. Her eyes fluttered open, a confused look passing through her eyes before a small, angry flame erupted in the obsidian depths. Shoving herself into a sitting position, Dawn clenched her teeth together, her jaw tensing. She barely realized Lorna was in the room, until the house elf stepped forward and tugged gently on the hem of Dawn's skirt, which she obviously hadn't changed out of the night previous.
"Mistress Dawn? Is my Mistress okay? You do not look well..." She squeaked, but received no answer. The next moment, Dawn stood and the mark on her arm was revealed to the elf, who let out a squeal and dove beneath the bed, terrified of what she saw. How could her Mistress receive such a mark? Death Eaters were all cruel and uncaring, weren't they? And, that was not the way she saw her Mistress.
Dawn's features softened when she realized why the elf was frightened, though her anger did not subside. No, it only increased as her earlier suspicions were confirmed. So, that was what her father had done the night before when she'd passed out. Shaking her head, Dawn knelt and held out her hand, ignoring the kitten pawing at her leg, "Lorna... Please, don't be frightened... I did not get this mark by choice. Father gave it to me last night. I'm not going to harm you. You know me better than that, don't you?" She kept her voice low and calm, trying to soothe her favorite house elf's fears, while at the same time, trying to keep her anger from bubbling to the surface and frightening the creature even more than she already was.
Lorna slowly made her way from beneath the bed, standing before her still-kneeling Mistress, her hands clasped in front of her. Nodding once, she looked at Dawn and let a few tears fall down her face, "Lorna is sorry, Mistress Dawn..." A low bow would have been used to emphasis this, but Dawn put a stop this by shaking her head and putting a hand beneath Lorna's chin.
"Now, Lorna, no more bowing, okay? Don't you ever be frightened of me, again, understand me?" She paused, not moving until Lorna nodded, and smiled up at her young Mistress. When this was accomplished, Dawn reached over and ran a hand over the top of Emiko's head, then stood, "Now, to deal with another problem..." She murmured, before walking to her closet and changing into another pair of her many dark jeans, these fitting more snugly at her waist and along her slim legs, flaring out at the bottom. Finding a crimson tank-top, Dawn changed into this, as well.
Satisfied she was back to her normal appearance, Dawn stepped from the closet and headed out of her bedroom, leaving Lorna to attend to the bed and Emiko's feeding. For now, Dawn needed to find Nicholae. But, she was stopped at the bottom of the stairs by a soft chuckle, "Sleep well? Oh, and what's that on your arm, eh, Chandler?"
Dawn turned her head in the direction of the voice, her gaze falling on the immaculate Draco Malfoy, and her brows arching, "It's nothing, Malfoy. What are you doing here, anyway?" As she spoke this last part, her hand moved to her left arm, pressing it over the mark.
Draco shrugged and looked towards the dining room, "I'm not sure, really. Nicholae, my parents, Aubrey's father, Crabbe and Goyle's parents, and Kente have all gone to Diagon Alley. Aubrey and I were left here, along with Kyanna and Sai. Crabbe and Goyle stayed at home, because it was too early for them. Though, it seems the same is true for you... It's nearly noon and you just now come down from your room..." He smirked, shaking his head at his own comment.
Dawn rolled her eyes and bit her lower lip, "Yes, well, I had a rough night after you and the others left. Father wasn't happy with me, especially since he saw me change last night. So, Aubrey's of no use to me, considering there's no secret for him to keep..." She smirked, glad of this last thing. Now she wouldn't have to listen to Aubrey just to keep him quiet, "What are you doing out here, anyway? Shouldn't you be in there with those other twits?" She asked him, a teasing glint in her eyes.
He chuckled and shook his head, "I couldn't stand a moment longer listening to Aubrey and Kyanna's rambling. As for Sai... She wouldn't come down until you'd come out of your room. She's quite worried about you, Chandler. She must be terribly fond of you..." He smirked at this and nodded towards the stairs, "Better let her know you're up. I won't tell Aubrey or Kyanna I've seen you. I'm sure you don't wish to visit with either of them..." He nodded once more and turned on his heel, heading back to the dining room where Kyanna and Aubrey sat chattering about what they intended to do that summer.
Dawn breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Draco was covering for her, before turning and hurrying up the stairs, a grin on her face. She was soon standing outside the guest room door, where Sai had been told to sleep that night. Dawn didn't hesitate before opening the door, closing it quickly behind her. Sai was sitting on the twin bed, farthest from the door. She didn't look up when Dawn entered, thinking it was Kyanna back to give her a hard time, again.
"Little Sai... Are you okay?" Dawn asked, frowning and cocking her head to the side when Sai made no reaction to someone entering her room. Sai looked up at her cousin's voice and smiled brightly, making Dawn's grin return once more, "There was no need for you to wait for me to get up, you know? You could have left your room and talked to Draco..." A sly smirk passed her lips, making Sai blush lightly, standing from the bed.
"What're you talking about, Dawn?" She demanded, her childish pout returning to her lips, something she often did when upset, confused, or angry about something, "I'm sure Draco has much better things to do than talk to me..." She added, walking forward, a concerned look replacing her pout. Standing in front of her Dawn, she put her hands on her hips, "Are you okay, Dawn? What happened last night that made you sleep until noon?" She demanded, pulling her hands from her hips and hugging Dawn about her waist, burying her face in the older girl's stomach, biting her lip to keep from crying, again.
Dawn shook her head nad ran her hand over the top of Sai's head, stroking the girl's head in a slow, soothing motion, "Sai... Sweetie... I'm going to show you what happened, but don't be scared of me. Please, don't be frightened, okay? I didn't ask for this. I promise, I didn't..." She closed her eyes and released the smaller girl, taking a deep breath before turning her arm to reveal the mark on her forearm.
Sai gasped softly, running a hand over the mark but pulling back quickly when Dawn winced, the skin still incredibly tender from the night before, "He did this to you, Dawn? But, he's your father... How could he? Even Uncle Nicholae should have had enough of a heart not to put this on you..." She couldn't stop herself from crying this time, and Dawn shook her head, opening her eyes once more.
"Sai. Don't you dare cry, you hear me?" Dawn took the girl's hand within her own and led her from the room, heading towards the stairs, "Come on. We're going to go for a walk. I need to talk to someone, anyway. I've been meaning to introduce you to him..." She smiled softly, pleased with the curious look on her cousin's face.
Sai nodded, slowly wiping the tears from her cheeks, "Okay, Dawn... If you're sure you're alright..." The younger girl looked up at Dawn with suspicion shining in her eyes, but chose to say nothing more, simply following Dawn from the room, the two making their way quietly down the stairs, towards the back door of the house.
Dawn breathed a sigh of relief when she and Sai made it safely out the back of the house, the girl more than relieved at the fact that they'd not been stopped by Kyanna, Kente, or Aubrey. Once more, Dawn took Sai's hand in her own, and led the girl down the porch steps and over the yeard, leading out to the woods behind the Chandler Estate.
Sai said nothing, pressing her lips tightly together as she continued to follow Dawn, the older girl speaking little, a mischievious gleam in her eyes. She wanted to introduce Sai to the friend she'd met only a few days prior on one of her many walks through the woods on the edge of the Chandler property. Before entering said woods, she looked over her shoulder at the house and then down at Sai, "Ready, then?" She asked her, grinning when the younger nodded eagerly.
Dawn pulled Sai through the line of trees, going deep into the woods, not stopping until they reached an unused, grown in path, leading back only a few feet before revealing a small shed, covered by vines and surrounded by the leaves of the trees around it. Sai couldn't see what was so special about such a place, but this was obviously where Dawn had been leading her, as the older girl now pulled Sai towards it, grasping the handle of the door tightly and pulling it open.
The loud, friendly barking of a rather large dog met Sai's ears as the animal leapt up from his place in the corner and propped himself up, his paws resting on Dawn's stomach. Dawn laughed and rubbed his head, beckoning Sai to come into the shed and close the door. When she'd done so, she looked back to Dawn, who was grinning widely. Not saying a word to Sai, she looked down at the dog in front of her, "Hey, this is my cousin. The one I told you about yesterday. Sai Chandler. Want to meet her, Sirius?" She asked, grinning and stepping back so the dog fell to all four paws once more.
Sai's eyes widened at the name, but her surprise was increased when the dog slowly shifted from animal to man. The man before her had long, shaggily cut black hair and dark eyes, almost hollow, as though he were somehow lost. Smiling warmly at the young girl, "Yes, Dawn, I remember. Little that I do remember these days. Hello there, little Sai. My name is Sirius Black, and that's about all I can tell you right now. I'm still working on getting those memories of mine back." He quipped, rolling his eyes while offering a hand to the girl.
Sai blinked in confusion, looking up at his face then down at his hand, before accepting it, shaking her head to knock herself from her stupor, "It's nice to meet you, Sirius, sir... But, I thought they said you were dead..." She murmured, his hand grasping her's tightly, "That's what the Daily Prophet said so..." She added, making his eyes darken.
"You can't believe everything that bloody paper says..." The man responded, without even thinking of what he was saying, "That mental woman, Rita Skeeter, is always trying to come up with something that will sell..." Pausing, he scratched the back of his neck and arched a brow, releasing Sai's hand and grinning, catching Dawn's gaze, "Looks like they're slowly coming back to me..." He told her, shaking his head.
Dawn nodded and went to put an arm around Sai's shoulders, noticing how the young girl seemed to be incredibly lost and confused at the moment, "That's good to hear, Sirius. I really do want you to remember. Remember every single little detail. You know I do. We know it's going to take some time, though..." She reminded him, smiling softly, "I have something to tell you. If you care to listen to an adolescent's pitiful problems..." She quipped, pulling Sai with her as she sat with her back to the wall, her knees bent, and Sai pulled to her side, the younger not protesting.
Sirius chuckled and nodded, "Dawn, you know I'm always here to listen to you. Now, what's the matter with you, my dear girl?" He asked her, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor of the small building, facing the two girls with a concerned expression.
Dawn sighed, then took a deep breath, "Okay..." She took her left arm and slowly turned it so that the mark was revealed once more to another of her closest friends, though Sirius's reaction was not one of fear, but of outrage, a growl forming in his throat. Dawn quickly pulled her arm back and folded her arms in her lap, Sai shrinking away from the angered man before her. The elder began to speak quickly, telling Sirius of the incident with Aubrey last night, and how her father was to arrange a marriage with the conniving Aubrey, and of what had happened the night before after the guests had left. Sai listened just as closely, but Sirius's eyes were slowly darkening and his fists folding into tight fists.
"Bloody hell, Dawn. These are not some pitiful adolescent problems. Those are some teenage girl weeping over a crush who doesn't return the feelings. I don't see how that man could do this to you. He's just like my parents were. Snobbish, arrogant purebloods who can thinking of nothing else but following the Dark Lord, as well as having their children following in their footsteps."
He and Dawn both realized he'd remembered something else, but neither commented on it, other things on their mind. Dawn simply shook her head, "Don't be angry, Sirius. I don't want you blowing your cover until you've regained your memories, and it's safe for you to re-emerge into the wizarding world, despite your name being cleared by the discovery of Peter Pettigrew and his involvement. For now, just let me handle it, okay?" She spoke softly, trying to soothe the man, who was slowly becoming attatched to Dawn as a daughter, as she was becoming attatched to him as somewhat of a father-figure.
Dawn's gaze lifted, moving to the one window of the building. Someone was calling her name, the sounds coming from the edge of the woods, "Sai. We have to go, now. Sirius... Stay calm. I must get back before they come looking for me and find this place." She jumped to her feet, pulling Sai with her, but before she could leave, Sirius stood as well and wrapped Dawn into a warm hug. After a moment, he pulled back and shifted back to a dog. Nodding, Dawn turned and ran from the shed, Sai behind her, neither of the two stopping until they reached the house, where Nicholae was calling for them to return.
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Author's Note: Hey! Another chapter done and posted up for all of you. Isn't the grand? Whoot for me. I can't believe I've actually kept with this one without having the urge to restart it! Wowness. Okay, well review if you have the time. Chapter seven coming as soon as I can get it written.